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As of November 1, 2017, there have been 199 documented incidents of hate violence against those who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, South Asian, Arab, or Middle Eastern. Most notably, hate violence this year has increased by 53% compared to the previous year.

Consistent with the numbers from last week, women who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, South Asian, Arab, or Middle Eastern continue to be the most common target of hate making up 29% of hate violence in the SAALT database. Hate incidents against men, youth, and Muslim places of worship come in second with comparable percentages. Nineteen percent of hate violence is against youth, a slight increase from the previous week. On October 25th, Christopher Beckham harassed two Muslim girls wearing hijabs coming off of a school bus and threatened their father with a knife. He told them to “go back to their country” and that he would kill them when he got out of prison.

This week’s report on hate violence against those who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, South Asian, Arab, or Middle Eastern highlights two notable shifts in trends. For the first time, physical assaults post-election have surpassed pre-election numbers. Additionally, there has been an increase in hate incidents in the Midwest region of the U.S., with percentages close to the Western and Eastern regional percentages.

As we approach the close of the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency, the total number of hate incidents have increased to 191 resulting in a 46% increase from pre-election year to post-election year (see Figure 1).

Of the 191 reported hate incidents, 65 incidents are physical assaults, 77 incidents are verbal or written threats, and 50 incidents involve property damage (see Figure 2). The most dramatic increase in hate incidents has involved verbal and written assaults over the past year. Recently, a Delaware man, Gerard Medvec, is facing hate crime charges for spying on and threatening his neighbors who he thought were Muslim. Post-election totals on physical assaults have also surpassed the totals from pre-election year. Physical assaults include acts such as shoving, punching, pulling, and spitting by the perpetrators. On October 7th, a 43-year old white man walked into a convenience store in Seattle, WA, and pepper sprayed two men and one woman wearing hijab. This attack was preceded by an anti-Muslim rant in the store. Finally, property damage often consisting of vandalism comprises the third category of hate incidents. Mosques are the most common target of hate incidents involving property damage. For example, figure 3 demonstrates that 21% of hate incidents involve damage or vandalism of mosques and Muslim community centers. This past week, Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center in Minnesota, which was bombed in August, was broken into and burglarized.

The most common victims of hate incidents are often women. Twenty-nine percent of the 191 documented hate incidents are against women who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, South Asian, Middle Eastern, or Arab (see Figure 3). A majority of these hate incidents involve women wearing hijabs. Hate violence towards women underscores the role of intersectionality and the need for identifying these intersections in documenting hate.

The combination of gender, religious attire, skin color, accent, and other factors all play a part in how women are perceived and targeted in daily life. For men, as well, intersections of multiple factors contribute to how they are perceived and treated by others. Twenty-two percent of hate incidents are against men who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, South Asian, Middle Eastern, or Arab. Youth are also vulnerable to hate incidents due to the intersections of race, name, skin color, gender, and religion with young age. Eighteen percent of hate incidents involved students and youth (Youth numbers overlap with percentages of hate incidents against women and men). Incidents not only occur on the streets from strangers but also in institutional settings where others bully and haze them.

A recent incident stands out in highlighting the violence that youth who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, South Asian, Middle Eastern, or Arab face regularly, and the mental health crisis that can result from that trauma. Raheel Siddiqui, a young Muslim enlisted in the U.S. Marines, committed suicide during training this past March. According to his parents, his drill instructor incessantly hazed him for being Muslim. The instructor reportedly called him a terrorist and forced him to run laps until he collapsed. Superiors denied Raheel Siddiqui medical assistance and did not take seriously his threats to commit suicide. With increasing hate violence, community groups will need to hold institutional spaces such as schools, the military, and afterschool programs accountable in creating safe space for all youth.

Lastly, the rise in the number of hate incidents is regionally relevant (see Figure 4). The West Coast and East Coast continue to lead in hate incidents with slightly over half of incidents occurring in those regions of the U.S. Their lead, however, has shrunk over the weeks as the occurrence of hate incidents increased in the Midwest. Currently, 25% of hate incidents have occurred in places such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Southern regions of the U.S. have the lowest number of incidents making up 18% of the total.

In response to the White House’s release of a series of hard-line measures required in exchange for allowing DREAMers to remain in the United States through the proposed DREAM Act, Suman Raghunathan, Executive Director of SAALT, released the following statement:

“SAALT has vocally supported the passage of a clean DREAM Act since the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on September 5, 2017. In demanding a clean DREAM Act, we are stating unequivocally that any legislation must not include measures to increase border or interior enforcement, no cuts to family immigration, and no threats to legal immigration. All of these unacceptable provisions were included in the Administration’s priorities list issued this weekend.

Specifically, these ‘priorities’ include ramping up border and interior enforcement, including the construction of a wall along the Mexico border, a further crackdown on sanctuary cities, an extreme cap on refugees and asylum seekers, and a deep slash to family and legal immigration numbers.

It is a patently false construct to assume that ramping up enforcement and cutting immigration from every angle is a necessary step to ensure a legislative solution, one that is desperately needed after the inhumane rescission of the DACA program by this administration.

Over 27,000 Asian Americans, including 5,500 Indians and Pakistanis, have already received DACA. An additional estimated 17,000 individuals from India and 6,000 from Pakistan are eligible for DACA, placing India in the top ten countries for DACA eligibility. These individuals and families must be protected through legislation without a barrage of unconscionable measures attached therein.

Immigrants are not a threat to our national security. Instead, as numerous studies have shown, they enhance our nation and give us the opportunity to live up to our ideals as a country. Moreover, two-thirds of Americans support the DREAM Act as well as over 50% of elected officials across party lines.

With this public mandate behind them, our leaders must stay strong and ensure that this administration’s ‘priorities’ do not serve as a starting point for any bargaining at the expense of immigrant communities. What we deserve is a clean DREAM Act rooted in dignity and inclusion for all immigrant communities. We will not settle for anything less.”

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South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) is a national, nonpartisan, non-profit organization that fights for racial justice and advocates for the civil rights of all South Asians in the United States. Our ultimate vision is dignity and full inclusion for all.

At the 11 month mark since the election of Donald Trump, there have been 184 documented incidents of hate violence against those who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, South Asian, Arab, or Middle Eastern compared to the total of 130 from the year before the election. The rise in hate violence this year is a 42% increase from the pre-election year. Further, SAALT finds that new incidents occur at the rate of four to five a week. For example, since the last SAALT hate violence report on October 3, 2017, there have been five new reported hate incidents.

Figure 2 organizes incidents of hate violence into descriptive categories and compares totals pre and post-election. The three categories of hate violence are incidents of physical violence, incidents of verbal/written threats, and incidents of property damage. Verbal and written threats and hateful rhetoric are the most common type of violence against those who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, South Asian, Arab, or Middle Eastern. Since November 8, 2016, there have been 73 documented verbal and written hate incidents. While there has been a dramatic increase in hate rhetoric over the past 11 months compared to the prior year, many verbal and written incidents go unreported. Actual physical attack due to hate and bias is the second most common type of hate violence against communities represented by SAALT. There have been 63 physical assaults in the last 11 months. This total is on par with the total from the pre-election year. Finally, property damage often consisting of vandalism comprises the third category of hate incidents with 48 unique incidents occurring since November 8, 2016.

Suman Raghunathan, Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), issued the following statement subsequent to SAALT’s October 7 town hall on hate violence in Cary, North Carolina in collaboration with state and local officials, law enforcement, and community based organizations:

“America’s highest ideals are rooted in the fact that we are all created equal and have the right to pray, love, live with freedom. Nevertheless, our communities continue to be attacked and targeted via legislation based upon our real and perceived religion. This has to end.”

“From three Muslim Bans to contemptible support of white supremacy, this administration has encouraged and emboldened hate violence against our communities. Since the election of President Trump, SAALT has tracked over 179 incidents of hate violence aimed at South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Arab, and Middle Eastern American, already surpassing totals from the year leading up to the 2016 election.”

“In February 2015 three young Muslim Chapel Hill students and activists were murdered in their home by their neighbor. In June 2016 Army Reserve officer Russel Thomas Langford left bacon outside of a mosque, harassed congregants in the parking lot, and then made death threats, which according to Capt. John Kivett of the Sheriff’s Office, included telling “people at the mosque that he would kill them and bury them behind the mosque.” In May 2017, vulgar Islamophobic cartoons depicting a pig performing a sexual act on top of a Muslim man were posted across the residential halls at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.”

“These incidents reflect increasing bigotry and division targeting our communities across the country. This administration has done nothing to prevent or condemn vigilante violence or to denounce the views of die-hard racists, and has rather used the full power of the federal government to refill our nation’s reservoir of hate with every anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant policy and tweet it hurls.”

“In response to the uptick in hate violence targeting South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Arab, and Middle Eastern communities around the country, SAALT is hosting regional town halls this year on key issues for our communities. SAALT thanks Attorney General Josh Stein, Senator Angela Bryant, Senator Jay Chaudhuri, Former Representative Rick Glazier, Farris Barakat, Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue, the North Carolina members of the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations (NCSO), and our allies and sponsors for collaborating on this urgent town hall.

In this time of political and social divisiveness, an answer to hate violence seems impossible, yet the solution remains clear: we must remain united for action and stand with each other to demand that all Americans are afforded full inclusion and justice in our country. We must refuse to allow prejudice to go unchecked as we work to form a more perfect union together.”

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Quotes:

Attorney General Josh Stein:

“Criminals who target people with violence because of who they are, where they are from, or how they pray must be condemned. Hate crimes go against everything this country stands for. I am committed to strengthening North Carolina’s response to hate crimes and working collaboratively to prevent these crimes that incite fear and vulnerability among our neighbors.”

State Senator Jay Chaudhuri:

“America was founded on the ideal that all of us are created equal. Hate violence that targets our communities targets our country’s founding values. America has no room for violence based on someone’s race, religion, identity, and nation of origin, and we must denounce these acts in the strongest possible terms. I am committed to working with state and local authorities, and community leaders, to make sure North Carolina stands up to hate and not on the sidelines.”

Rick Glazier – Executive Director, North Carolina Justice Center

“A trust is placed in each of us-by future generations not yet born-to fulfill our maintenance obligation to fight poverty and disease, ignorance and bigotry, and apathy and distrust.”

“As an organization bringing to light the issues facing the Asian American community in North Carolina, we are greatly concerned about the rise in hate violence towards members of our community who are Muslim or perceived to be Muslim. This town hall is beginning a discussion we need to have in this state about collectively addressing the issue of hate violence and supporting policy changes that can bring it to an end.”

Ritu Kaur – Kiran Inc.

“Do you realize hate crimes and domestic violence have similar traumatic effect on the victims and on the community? Let us speak out.”

Farris Barakat – The Lighthouse Projects

“As prejudice and discrimination threaten more people and is normalized in offices as high up as the presidency, an active and grassroots effort to counter this darkness is a civic duty on the people of consciousness.”

Kulpreet Singh – Sikh Gurdwara

“Each of us is a tremendous resource, and the world is a better place when we communicate and work together because of, not despite, our differences.”

Chris Blue – Town of Chapel Hill, Chief of Police and Executive Director for Community Safety

“I am honored to have been among the impressive panelists who spoke so passionately today about the nature of hate in our society and the determination and compassion that will be required of all of us to overcome it. I am also heartened by the good work going on in North Carolina toward making this a place of inclusivity for everyone.”

Between November 8, 2016 and October 3, 2017, there have been 179 documented hate incidents against those who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, South Asian, Arab, or Middle Eastern compared to the total of 130 from the year prior to the election of Donald Trump. The increase in hate violence during the last eleven months is symptomatic of the normalization and sanctioning of hate rhetoric by those in positions of power and influence. Concurrent with the rise in hate incidents and normalization of hate rhetoric, there is also further deepening of institutionalized violence such as racial profiling and discrimination against multiple marginalized communities.

Hate incidents fall under three broad categories of: 1) property damage due to vandalism, robbery, arson, or other forms of destruction, 2) physical assaults such as pulling of attire, shoving, or punching, and 3) verbal and written assaults either in person or through email or flyers. Of the 179 hate incidents against those who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, South Asian, Arab, or Middle Eastern, 63 are incidents of physical assaults, 71 are incidents of verbal/written assaults, and 45 are incidents of property damage. The most notable instance of physical assault occurred in Houston, TX, on September 21, 2017. A Lyft driver assumed to be Pakistani and Muslim was verbally and physically assaulted by the passenger, Matthew Dunn.” The assault left the driver traumatized and fearful of his life. The anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment is characteristic of most hate incidents captured in SAALT’s database. While verbal or written assaults are absent of physical violence, they are equally traumatic for victims. On September 15, 2017, a white supremacist wearing a “F**k ISIS” t-shirt threatened to kill the patrons of a hookah lounge in Lake Forest, California. Then three days later on the 18th, vandals spray-painted multiple hate messages on a store owned by an Indian family. One alarming message stated: “Kill All Hindus.”

Concurrently, the violence that is happening on the streets is also institutionalized through racial profiling and discrimination of those who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, South Asian, Arab, or Middle Eastern. Racial profiling is a common institutionalized tactic used by law enforcement that unjustly targets and terrorizes communities of color. The ACLU reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized and searched the phones of the Alasaad family, who are Muslim and have American Citizenship, without a warrant and held the family for hours at the U.S.-Canadian border. More recently, a Muslim man was arrested, and his family was detained for three hours when he tried to deposit a check at his local bank in Wichita, Kansas. The family feels traumatized by the encounter and worries about their safety in Kansas.

As hate violence on the streets and the targeting of Muslims by law enforcement are routinized, the systemic discrimination of those who identify or are perceived as Muslim also deepens in major institutions such as education, labor, or housing. A Facebook page selling and renting homes in LaSalle, Illinois, up until recently asked members interested in joining the Facebook group: “Are you Muslim or terrorist?” A private company, Verly Pro Moving Labor, set up the Facebook page and after complaints took down the question. Also, a university professor, forced to resign, is suing his former employer, University of Central Florida, on grounds that he suffered discrimination as a Black and Muslim faculty member. These are just some of the examples that demonstrate how targeting of marginalized communities is criminalized and institutionalized.

September 11, 2017 marked the 16 year anniversary of 9/11, and hate violence against those who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, South Asian, Arab, Middle Eastern, and Asian continues to rise. While the campaign and election of Donald Trump is heralded as the impetus for the growing hate speech and violence nationally, Islamophobia, anti-Blackness, and anti-immigrant sentiment had become normalized and institutionalized in the U.S. over the last sixteen years: from profiling by TSA to police brutality to excessive delays in processing of immigration applications. Trump as well as others would not have been able to advocate and sanction white supremacy so deftly had it not been for the continued embedding of these principles in the foundations of U.S. governance.

The latest numbers in hate show that in the ten months since the election, a total of 168 incidents of hate have occurred against those who identify or are perceived to be Muslim or immigrant. Figure 1 illustrates that the percent increase is up by 29% as compared to the year prior to the election which had a total of 130 incidents.

There is a persistent increase in all categories of hate violence as shown in Figure 2. Verbal and written hate speech – at 68 unique incidents and property damage at 40 unique incidents – have surpassed the totals from the prior year. Acts of physical violence, now at 60 incidents, will soon exceed the total of 64 from last year. Recent examples of these hateful acts occurred over the previous week. On September 4th in Ohio, a truck driver fired a gun thirteen times at a Muslim woman in her car. She was struck four times and is currently recovering at a local hospital in Columbus, Ohio. CAIR is urging police to investigate this crime as a hate crime. Then on September 6, a Sikh Temple in Hollywood, CA was vandalized with hate speech. The words, “Nuke all Sikhs,” was scrawled on the walls of the temple. Further, a Filipino-Turkish man was beaten by a white supremacist in a parking lot in Fullerton, CA on September 7th.

Figure 3 demonstrates that the rise in the number of hate incidents are regionally relevant. The West Coast continues to lead in hate incidents with a third of incidents occurring in that region of the U.S. The hate violence occurring in the Eastern and Midwestern regions make up about half of all incidents. Southern regions of the U.S. have the lowest number of incidents making up 16% of the total. The higher proportion of documented hate crimes in certain regions is due to a variety of issues: 1) a higher proportion of the population that is of color and immigrant, 2) an ease and access to reporting structures, 3) the visibility of the crime, and 4) the visibility of the victim.

On September 12, 2017, one day after the 16th anniversary of the tragic attacks of September 11, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), a national civil rights and racial justice organization, held a Congressional briefing to address the rising tide of hate violence aimed at South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Arab, and Middle Eastern Americans under the current administration. SAALT was joined by five members of Congressional leadership and national partner organizations to denounce this administration’s anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant policies that embolden hate against our communities.

“Post-9/11 has transformed into present-Trump, with hate violence reaching levels that rival the aftermath of the September 11 attacks,” stated Suman Raghunathan, Executive Director of SAALT. “The White House has a sworn responsibility to condemn and prevent all forms of hate. Today’s briefing with Congressional leaders is an important step in making sure this administration does not renounce its responsibilities to our communities and nation.”

The current administration has been fundamental to the growth and audacity of white supremacist and Islamophobic movements in the United States. The White House has unleashed numerous divisive policies that have awoken and emboldened hate against our communities, including several permutations of the “Muslim Ban,” rescinding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and supporting the RAISE Act, among others.

Since the election, SAALT has documented over 150 incidents of hate violence against those who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, South Asian, Middle Eastern, or Arab American, already surpassing totals from the year leading up to the 2016 election. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, anti-Muslim hate groups grew by 197% in 2016, and, according to the FBI, anti-Muslim hate crimes increased by 67% in 2015.

“SAALT, along with our national partners, will continue to demand and strive for a just and inclusive society for all Americans,” stated Ms. Raghunathan. “We stand ready to work with Congressional leaders to mount a decisive opposition to bigotry and division of all kinds and to reinforce our communities’ important place in the fabric of our nation.”

Representative Judy Chu (CA-27), Chair, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus:
“Thank you to South Asian Americans Leading Together for organizing today’s briefing and being such a strong leader in the fight to defeat hate. Since the 2016 Presidential election we have witnessed heightened xenophobic and anti-Muslim rhetoric and violence targeting communities of color across the nation. This hate, rhetoric, and the violence is particularly alarming because it is reminiscent of what we saw in the aftermath of September 11 attacks, when Muslims, South Asians, Sikhs and others became the targets of hate. In 2017 we’ve seen racial tensions come to a head, which has been largely fueled by white supremacists. The Trump administration’s dangerous political rhetoric has explicitly targeted South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Arab, and Middle Eastern communities, such as the President’s ill-conceived and un-American Muslim travel ban. But the xenophobic sentiment is also being driven by xenophobic policies such as President Trump’s decision to terminate the DACA program, and its desire to upend our family based immigration system. Our nation’s values affirm that all people deserve to be welcomed and to feel safe no matter what they look like or who they worship. Hate has no place in America, and we have to continue to remain vigilant in protecting the rights of all Americans against this rising tide of hate violence.”

Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-7):
“The hate violence we are facing in 2017 is not new. But what we are facing, what it feels like, is a sanctioned hate that comes from places like the White House. We ask that the President cease his incendiary rhetoric that helps to fuel many of these hate crimes. It is crystal clear that we still have a tremendous amount of work to do, and that work must come from leaders in Congress and from our communities insisting that we are not a country that continues this anti-immigrant xenophobic rhetoric. You can tie a direct thread between everything that has been happening and the leadership that comes from the White House. It isn’t enough just to be speak out, there needs to be accountability that actually takes direct action to ensure that the President understands that he is the President of all of the United States of America. Let’s see every defeat as an opportunity to grow our movement, and let’s see every win as a victory in our step to push for that more perfect union.”

Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17):
“It’s time that we, together as a nation, speak openly and respectfully about how to end any hate and violence directed towards Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities. I will always stand up against racism and violence. To those who have faced prejudice know that you are not alone and we are with you.”

South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), a national civil rights and racial justice organization, fully supports calls by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Judy Chu, and other members of Congressional leadership for the immediate passage of the DREAM Act. These demands come on the heels of last week’s decision by the Trump administration to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the latest in this administration’s anti-immigrant policies that puts 800,000 people at risk of deportation from the only country they’ve ever called home.

“This administration’s heartless, endless efforts to target and marginalize immigrant communities makes the immediate passage of a clean DREAM Act all the more urgent,” stated Suman Raghunathan, Executive Director of SAALT. “SAALT joins Congressional leadership in staunch support of the immediate passage of the DREAM Act, and we call on all elected and appointed officials to defend our communities through their words and actions.”

At a press conference on the DREAM Act, Representative Nancy Pelosi noted, “It’s an honor to be here with DREAMers, who are advancing the American dream. With their courage, with their optimism, and with their inspiration, they make America more American.”

Representative Judy Chu stated, “It was only last week that President Trump issued one of the cruelest orders he ever could, the end of DACA, forcing 800,000 people to face deportation to countries that they do not even know. We are here to say, ‘We will fight for our DREAMers.’”

Chirayu Patel, Co-Founder of the DACA Network and a DREAMer himself, stated, “I have built a life here: gone to elementary, middle school, high school, and college. The decision by President Obama in 2012 to enact the DACA program was a consequential day for me, as I believed this was the first step to earn my American citizenship. Last week’s decision by President Trump turned my life upside down. We will not be used as bargaining chips in political gamesmanship between the parties. We are calling on Congress to pass a clean DREAM Act now. Now is the time for Congress to make a decision on whether they’re going to support us or if they’re going to stand in the way of progress.”

Over 27,000 Asian Americans, including 5,500 Indians and Pakistanis, have already received DACA. An additional estimated 17,000 individuals from India and 6,000 Pakistan respectively are eligible for DACA, placing India in the top ten countries for DACA eligibility. With the termination of DACA, these individuals could face deportation at the discretion of the administration.

Our immigration laws are badly broken – disregarding our values is not the answer to fixing them. We call on Congress to do its job and immediately pass a clean DREAM Act that creates a roadmap to citizenship for aspiring new Americans. This is the only way to align our immigration laws with the values Americans hold dear.

Washington – Civil rights leaders, faith based, human rights, and community organizations condemn today’s bigoted, anti-Muslim online campaign by ACT for America, reportedly the nation’s largest anti-Muslim hate group. This online campaign was scheduled for just two days before the anniversary of September 11 to target and manufacture hatred for American Muslims at a time when violence against Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and Sikh communities is reaching historic highs.

ACT originally planned to coordinate 67 anti-Muslim rallies across 36 states under the theme “America First.” However, after thousands of Americans came out in peaceful resistance to white supremacy and racism in Charlottesville and Boston, ACT decided to call off its rallies and shift to today’s online campaign, a clear signal that messages of justice and solidarity are drowning out messages of hate nationwide.

This is not the first time civil rights groups and anti-racist protestors stared down ACT’s bigotry. In June ACT held anti-Muslim rallies in 30 cities across the nation under the theme “March Against Shariah”. This campaign was met with strong resistance from civil rights groups who held alternative events that telegraphed calls for love, fairness, and justice. The Trump administration was silent in response.

ACT’s founder, Brigitte Gabriel, has made her racism clear. She has said, “Every practicing Muslim is a radical Muslim” and has argued, outrageously, that Muslims are a “natural threat to civilized people of the world, particularly Western society.” In a video message launching the America First rallies, Ms. Gabriel exclaims, “Let’s show our president that we are behind him in securing our nation.” In accordance with the bigotry that ACT promotes, its previous anti-Muslim rallies have attracted a host of armed militia-type groups and white nationalists.

Likewise, President Trump has made no secret of his bigotry,, stating on the record, “I think Islam hates us” and moving forward with his administration’s dogged pursuit of a “Muslim Ban,” among other policies. The words and actions of the administration, including high-level advisors who are known standard-bearers for white supremacist movements, as well as the President himself, increasingly fuel and validate violence targeting Muslims and people perceived as Muslim. The FBI’s 2015 hate crimes statistics, the most updated data available, show a 67% increase in hate crimes against Muslims in 2015, while violence aimed at South Asian, Sikh, and Arab communities continue to rise. The xenophobic statements by the President and Gabriel run counter to the values of justice and inclusivity that we seek to uphold.

Peaceful resistance by civil rights groups, immigrant and faith communities, and communities of color has been the strongest counterweight to the insults and injuries of white supremacists and this administration. We demand this administration, and all elected and appointed officials, condemn groups that peddle hate in the strongest possible terms, and back that condemnation with swift action and policies that contribute to the transformation of our institutions. The hatred must stop now. As a coalition of diverse organizations representing communities of color and immigrants at the national, state, and local levels, we are committed to condemning bigotry of all kinds and advancing the principles of racial justice.

Suman Raghunathan, Executive Director, South Asian Americans Leading Together, said, “ACT for America’s racism and fear mongering are incompatible with core American values of justice and equality in a nation where people of color will constitute a majority of residents within the next two decades. ACT’s decision to shift from nationwide rallies to an online campaign, while still toxic, is in no small terms a victory and emblematic of the power of standing together, united from all faiths and backgrounds against bigotry. The Trump administration must end its anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant campaign that emboldens hate groups to commit horrific acts of violence against our communities. Silence is no longer an option. The President, along with all elected and appointed officials, must condemn Islamophobia and white supremacy and ensure that our communities can live in a just and inclusive society for all Americans.”